, 1887-03-17


man to begin work in California Gully
at Bendigo, in 1852, was prospecting
gully at Teetulpa Run with his part.
ner, Thomas Smith. The first gold
discovered was pried out OF cracks in |
the slate with knives. Brady and Smith
applied for the reward OF E1 600 offered
by the government for the discovery |
OF new gold field. At once there
was rush for the diggings. The rail
way stations in Adelaide were crowded.
"For parallel to the present out
break of the gold fcvcr," said the Ace
laide Observer two weeks later, "it is
necessary to 60 back to the palmy
DAYS of Ba)larat and Bendigo. In the
streets of the city nothing is spoken OF
but gold, and the examinations OF
specimens and the canvassing OF re-
ports as to the size Of the latest mug
gets monopolize the attention alike of
busy men and iilers. Parliament, or
at all events, the assembly has caught
the prevailing epidemic. and the grav-
est matters in the Notice-paper have
to yield precedence to questions us to
what is to be done to facilitate the
search for the precious metals"
The gold is sold ut from CD lSs. to
ca an ounce. At last accounts the
largest nugget that had been shown
weighed only 29S ounces, but it was
reported that ~ five pound nugget and
one weighing seven pounds had been
taken out. Hundreds of men were
finding no gold; many others were
finding enough to pay expenses, while
perhaps one-half of the diggors were
doing well. One of the lucky diggers
made Sl 800 in three weeks. Two men
worked two weeks without seeing
"color," and in the following two weeks
found Is ounces. An other digger
took out Is ounces of course gold in
one day. \ nugget of l6 ounces is
about the size of II hens egg. Probab-
ly one-half Of the gold is thrown away
| for want OF water with which to wash
the loan and gravel in which it lies.
At last accounts the government was
preparing to supply the diggcrs with
water by boring wells. Before christ
mas the diggings had been extended fol
several miles, and the temperature was
10 degrees in the shade,
1t appears from reports published
in the Adelaide papers that the new
mining camp is Il very orderly and
quiet settlement. At the end OF two
months only one death had occurred,
and the fact that this had been caused
by typhoid fever led to the govern
ment to enforce sanitary rules, which
the eager diggers had failed To observe.
Early in December three miners
rights in Teetulpa were taken by
| 4 l'hi,,A,,tnt, l,n al
| lowed on the field" the Adelaide OBJ
server asks, "Most people" it replies,
"will agree in thinking that they
should not. The Chinaman is the re-
verse of model colonist. He is here
to-day with nothing ut all and in
China tomorrow with II modest for
tune. He does not in the proper
sense of the word help to develop the
workings. ii he were to find gold
field himself he might be allowed to
work it, or if it were situated in IL coun-
try in which Europeans could not
work. But neither of these conditions
applies in the case of Teetulpa." And
so the Observer reaches the conclusion
that the Chinese must go.
Within sixteen miles of these placer
mines company is engaged in quartz
mining, or "reeting,' as the Australian
say, in a gold-bearing reef that was
discovered by shepherd thirteen
years ago. The quartz yields from one
and hall to two ounces to the ton.
All these deposits are in the south
eastern part of South Australia Very
little is known about the mineral re-
sources of the colony's great northern
territory, which stretches across the
continent, but gold, silver, lead and
tin have been found in it, and the
completion of the transcontinental
railway will probably lead to the dis
covery of rich mines. Vast deposits Of
precious metal are yet to be found in
the unexplored regions of the world.
The richness OF the new De Kaap gold
field in South Africa, the recent dis
covery of large gold-bearing district
i'll Patagonia, together with the facts
recently learned concerning deposits
OF gold in Northern Thibet and OH the
east coast of Africa, show that great
quantities OF the metal await the keen
eye Of the prospector and the industry
and capital Of the miner.-Ncw York
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